Disparate effects of pharmacotherapy on plasma plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 levels in women with the polycystic ovary syndrome.

Objective: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by obesity and insulin resistance (IR), which result in elevated plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) levels. We aimed to assess the changes in PAI-1 levels in PCOS during treatment with metformin and during weight loss.

Design: Twenty-three normal weight women with PCOS were given metformin 850 mg bid for 6 months.

Platelet-derived microparticles in overweight/obese women with the polycystic ovary syndrome.

A substantial proportion of women with the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are obese and obesity is considered as a prothrombotic state. Platelet-derived microparticles (PMPs) might be implicated in the activation of the coagulation cascade. We aimed to assess plasma PMPs in overweight/obese women with PCOS.

Biomarkers in pre-eclampsia: a novel approach to early detection of the disease.

Pre-eclampsia is a unique disorder of human pregnancy with a great impact on maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide and especially in developing countries. The aetiology is still unknown and the pathophysiology of the disease is the subject of extensive investigation. Recently, much of the interest of the investigators for the prediction of pre-eclampsia has been aimed at measurable manifestations of abnormal placentation, endothelial dysfunction and feto-maternal unit perfusion.

Adipokines, insulin resistance and hyperandrogenemia in obese patients with polycystic ovary syndrome: cross-sectional correlations and the effects of weight loss.

Objective: To assess the effects of weight loss on serum adipokine levels in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Methods: We determined serum leptin, adiponectin, resistin, and visfatin levels in 60 overweight/obese women with PCOS and 48 BMI-matched female volunteers. Measurements were repeated after 24 weeks of treatment with orlistat 120 mg 3 times per day along with an energy-restricted diet.

Plasma von Willebrand factor antigen levels are elevated in the classic phenotypes of polycystic ovary syndrome.

Objective: We aimed to assess plasma Von Willebrand factor (vWF) levels in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and to compare these levels among the different PCOS phenotypes.

Design: We studied 140 women with PCOS and 40 age and body mass index (BMI)- matched healthy women (control group).

Results: Plasma vWF antigen levels were higher in women with PCOS than in controls (p=0.